FABREGAS SAGA RUMBLES ON: WORLD PAST CARING

In the Fifth Century BC, Herodotus set about documenting the world as he saw it. The scholarly among you will know that his main area of interest was the outbreak of the Greco-Persian wars. Few will be familiar with his speculation on whether Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas would make a summer move to Barcelona, but for those willing to look hard enough, it’s there.

It’s now been 2500 years since the first rumours about the move surfaced – hard to believe, especially considering the Spaniard only recently turned 24. This summer, the rumours have been as plentiful as ever.

Yesterday, Fabregas did little to clarify his intentions, stating “I have not spoken to the manager. He is the boss, he takes decisions and I don’t know if they want to sell me or not.”

While it’s more-or-less guaranteed that Fabregas will end up at Barcelona one day, it’s far less certain whether, by that time, anyone will really care.

Footy Matters Prediction: Going Nowhere.

SPURS REJECT BID FOR MODRIC

Spurs have reportedly turned down a £22million bid from Chelsea for playmaker Luka Modric. The midfielder is reportedly on the wishlist of every team in the Northern Hemisphere, and this surely is behind Spurs’ resolve to hold out for more money.

With Manchester United and Manchester City among those said to be in the race for Modric’s signature, a bidding war may well break out. Harry Redknapp insists Modric is not for sale, but may have to resign himself to losing the Croatian.

A possible replacement could be Dinamo Zagreb’s Milan Badelj, who would cost around £8.5million. Badelj was Modric’s successor in Zagreb, and by all accounts has been a worthy replacement. Perhaps the teams following Modric should opt for Badelj instead and save themselves a heap of cash and a lot of hassle.

Footy Matters prediction: Modric to Chelsea. Or Man City. Or Man United.

LIVERPOOL LEAD THE RACE TO SIGN ADAM

Three times in January Liverpool tried to prise Charlie Adam from Blackpool, only to be told the bids for the young midfielder fell short of Ian Holloway’s valuation of “Dunno, £46million?”

Although he lavished ludicrous sums of money on Andy Carroll and Jordan Henderson, Kenny Dalglish is unlikely to be so benevolent again, with a paltry £10million being the amount likely to change hands.

Liverpool are not alone in the pursuit of Adam, however, with Spurs also keen to sign him. Spurs reportedly missed out on signing Adam by two minutes in January. Before splashing out on a new midfielder, Harry Redknapp may want to invest in a quicker fax machine.

Footy Matters: Going to Liverpool.

BARTON HINTS AT POTENTIAL NEWCASTLE EXODUS

In a move that will undoubtedly push Premier League managers closer to banning their players from shooting their mouths off on Twitter, Joey Barton has voiced his outrage at the sale of Kevin Nolan on the social networking site.

Tweeting from Royal Ascot, Barton wrote “Great player, leader, captain, person, trainer, and mostly a friend for life. Devastated to see him sold.” He then hinted that he, along with Jose Enrique and Jonas Gutierrez would be the next to leave St James’ Park.

Only hours earlier, Magpies boss Alan Pardew said that European qualification was a ‘must’ if they were to hold on to their top players. One would have thought that realisation would have struck him before the end of the season.

Footy Matters Prediction: Barton, Enrique and Gutierrez all to leave and be replaced by lesser players.

ON THE CONTINENT

Former Juventus general manager Luciano Moggi has been banned from all Italian football for life, the country’s football federation said on Wednesday. Moggi was banned for five years following the 2006 match-fixing scandal which led to Juventus being demoted and being stripped of their 2005 and 2006 Serie A titles.

Barcelona have tabled an opening offer for Villarreal’s Giuseppe Rossi. Barca have offered €17million plus a further €10million based on appearances and success.

Inter Milan have started the bidding for Real Madrid’s Brazilian forward Kaka, 29, at £26million.

OTHER NEWS

England Under-21s need to beat the Czech Republic on Sunday to secure a place in the semi-finals of the European Championship after a 0-0 draw with Ukraine last night..

England women’s coach Hope Powell has admitted her squad is entering “unknown territory” with regard to their fitness levels at the World Cup. All but five of Powell’s 21-strong squad play in the newly-formed Women’s Super League. They played only seven fixtures prior to the World Cup.

Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes has said he did consider playing for Oldham before he retired. The 36-year-old, who is a lifelong Latics fan, had spoken previously about the possibility of playing for the club at the end of his career.